Propose your own minor.

A minor can be a great way to structure your distribution requirements and free electives to concentrate your studies, pursue your interests, or develop your skills. CUA offers dozens of minor and certificate programs. You can also propose an interdisciplinary minor -- six related courses from two or three departments -- tailored to your interests and goals.

The Proposal

To undertake an interdisciplinary minor, you must submit a formal, written proposal to Dean Gaddy (gaddy@cua.edu; McMahon 107; 202-319-5114). The proposal is your responsibility, but you should also talk to your advisor and faculty members. Planning an interdisciplinary minor is a great excuse to talk to faculty you already know and an opportunity to meet a few you haven't yet.

Title

What would you call this minor? Your title should be a shorthand way to tell others how these six courses are related.

Course List

What are the six courses that you will put together as the interdisciplinary minor? Why these six? How are they related to each other? This is your chance to show in some detail how these six courses cohere and complement each other. Talk to professors teaching these or similar courses. They can point you to other, related courses. Also pay attention to how often courses are taught. It won't work to list a class that hasn't been offered since 2002.

Rationale

Why do you want to take these six courses as an interdisciplinary minor? How will the interdisciplinary minor relate to the rest of your studies? How will it prepare you for life after CUA?

Limitations

An interdisciplinary minor must be approved no later than a student's junior year. The majority of courses counting toward the interdisciplinary minor should not have been attempted at the time of the proposal. That is, the interdisciplinary minor should be a thought-out plan for purposive future study, not an after-the-fact bundling of already-taken courses.

As with other minors, at most two courses may count toward both the interdisciplinary minor and a student's major or a second minor requirements.

Example of a Recent Interdisciplinary Minor

Title

"Integral Social Analysis"

Course List

Sociology 201, "The Human Condition: Culture, Society, and Person"

Sociology 340, "Catholic Social Doctrine and Social Justice"

Honors Social Science Sequence 101, "The Human Person in the Social Sciences"